In the face of what is almost certain to be a massive electoral repudiation of President Obama, the Democrat controlled Congress, and their far left agenda at the hands of American voters on November 2nd, the radical far left website “Daily Kos” is pleading for its readers to engage in a coordinated effort of “cyber insurgency” or what could be termed “cyber-astroturfing” or “cyber-turfing.”

Kos has previously engaged in this practice which is also known as “search engine optimization” or SEO. Essentially this is a coordinated effort to flood the internet with unflattering stories about Republican Congressional candidates in the run up to the November 2^nd mid-term elections. This “cyber-turfing” effort would cause internet search engines to “top list” negative stories from the Main Stream Media, leftist blogs, and other anti-conservative internet content by moving it to the top of search engine “results” list.  The effectiveness of this technique stems from the reality that most readers confine their attention to just the headlines or first few lines of stories about any given subject as they search the internet using just a few key “search terms.”  Kos’s “cyber-turfing” would keep eyes on anti-Republican/conservative media and blog stories that pop up first.

This effort is aimed at undecided independents seeking information about particular candidates who “Google” them on the internet. This “cyber-turfing” negative campaign effort involves using hyperlinks to redirect and drive internet traffic to specifically targeted negative stories about Republicans running for the U.S. House of Representatives. The Daily Kos is targeting these races by determining, through various polling sources, what are considered to be the 98 most competitive Congressional races. (more…)

There’s new meaning to the word “viral.”

Normally the word is used in a positive sense when something is so popular on the web that it is shared with as many people as possible and “hits” go through the roof. In this case, some are saying viral is an infection emanating from a Las Vegas newspaper and its hired hit men.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal has contracted with a company called Righthaven. Righthaven sues web sites that they say are violating the copyright laws by sharing the R-J stories. No warning, no request to take down the material, no shot across the bow—it’s nuclear right out of the box. Virtually every other newspaper across the country asks “offending” web sites to just take down the material, and lawsuits are used only as a last resort.

I know, I’m being sued by Righthaven/R-J. My web site, www.LocalsLoveVegas.com is pretty much a hobby with video and news stories about this crazy city. The site is apolitical and focuses on fun things to do in one of the most enjoyable cities on the planet. I didn’t know there was a problem until a writer from the competing paper in town, Steve Green, wrote an article about my lawsuit in the Las Vegas Sun.

Even though, as the lawsuit against me acknowledges, I gave full credit to the Review-Journal along with the writer of the story, and a link back to the R-J to read the entire story. They are still suing. The lawsuit is asking for me to pay $75,000, court costs, attorney’s fees, and they want my web domain. (more…)

The slings and arrows of outrageous legislation, proposed and enacted, fly at you in fusillades from every direction. The enemy lurches towards you, massive, determined, unstoppable. The cavalry you expected to throw him back in confusion has decided to sit this one out. Betrayed, you’re on your own.

In this case, it is the National Rifle Association that has literally decided to sit this one out. After swearing that the freedom and right to bear arms is also dependent on the freedom of speech, it has decided to recuse itself from the First Amendment objections in exchange for a protected status. It will not oppose H.R. 1575, the Disclose Act, sponsored by Maryland Democrat Christopher Van Hollen. The purpose of this legislation is to counter the Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United case, which freed corporations and non-profits from many of the restrictive speech provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. It was a qualified victory for the First Amendment.

The NRA’s first obligation must be to its members and to its most ardent defense of firearms freedom for America’s lawful gun owners….The NRA will continue to fight for its right to speak out in defense of the Second Amendment. Any efforts to silence the political speech of NRA members will, as has been the case in the past, be met with strong opposition.

The rest of you can pound sand. (more…)

Yesterday I had the displeasure of reading Gregory Ferenstein’s column, “Why the web benefits liberals more than conservatives.” Ferenstein’s thesis is that liberal ideological characteristics facilitate Internet success, while the opposite is true for conservatism. Frankly, his entire piece is based on assumptions without evidence. Ferenstein states:

From…the million-strong Barack Obama Facebook page to the huge audience of the Huffington Post, liberals have been the dominant political force on the internet since the digital revolution began.”

Ferenstein avoids the most important reason for this phenomenon: Age. Younger people dominate the Internet, and younger people are more liberal by significant margins. So, Ferenstein could replace the phrase, “Liberals have been the dominant political force on the Internet since the digital revolution began,” with “Young people have been the dominant demographic on the Internet since the digital revolution began.” They have the same meaning.

He continues:

Research…suggests that the reason behind this imbalance may be the liberal belief system itself.

Liberals, the research finds, are oriented toward community activism…and feature user-generated content. Conservatives…are more comfortable with a commanding leadership and use restrictive policies to combat disorderly speech in online forums.

(more…)